"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at...." Thoreau

I think there is extraterrestrial life, probably even "intelligent" life as we might recognize it, but I don't think we have been visited.In my idealized universe, there is a physical barrier prohibiting deep space travel. The resources of any planet necessary to produce a potential spacefaring race is always insufficient to allow it. Or more dramatically, there is a race between escaping the home planet and consuming all of it's resources in the process.Not that I want it that way, but I like the poetry of it.If we start mining asteroids I'll change my mind.

Mr-914 wrote:I'm sure if we were all 18, the opinions would be much stronger on this subject.

I imagine the lack of response to this topic might be related to the professionalism of these boards. (The same reason that pilots and other people in positions of responsibility often tend to keep the strange things they see to themselves) So with my anonymity & the risk of providing a few giggles, I now share my thoughts and experience for your amusment.

I had always wanted to see a ufo since I was a kid and a couple of years ago, I was driving along a country road near my home when I noticed something strange hovering just above some trees in a field adjacent to the road I was travelling on. It was summer time & still daylight (about 8.30pm?) but the sun was just starting to go down. So i stopped the car and got out as soon as I saw somewhere to park. I crossed the road and stood there for perhaps a couple of minutes trying to make sense of what i was seeing. It was around 200m away from me and at a guess I'd say the object was around 8-10 feet at its widest point. It seemed to be shaped like an upside-down pyramid but with all corners and edges radiused to a very large degree. There was a light breeze but I noticed this thing didn't seem to move even a little bit. The surface of the object appeared very dull and if pushed to describe its surface texture I would have to say it resembled smooth stone. All the while I was looking at it my mind kept saying 'but where are the lights!?' as this thing seemed to have none. It was then that I noticed the object was slowly moving in my direction and descending diagonally as if to hide behind the trees in front of me. That's when I crapped myself , ran back to the car and wheel spun off like a big girl! ( A most unexpected reaction and needless to say when I got home I fely pretty disappointed with myself.) Somewhat amusingly, I find it harder to imagine a universe where we might be alone (but seemingly being left alone - that I could understand) . As we can see from the vast array of life on our planet, awareness likes to take many forms. To think our present state of understanding is the furthest along in this vastness also seems unlikely to me. My guess is that there are all sorts of beings 'out there', and crucially much like ourselves - some of them will have our mutual best interests at heart , and some of them will place their own interests above those of others.

I've thought I've seen UFOs about a dozen times. I'm curious and a thinker though. I eventually figured out what I was seeing (or not seeing). Mostly the usual suspects. Planes, clouds, the moon, antennas. It's amazing what we can make ourselves imagine we are seeing. When I was a boy, I thought I saw monsters walking around in the dark.

I imagine the lack of response to this topic might be related to the professionalism of these boards.

It's odd, but I think designers would be more prone to see UFOs. We're creative and visually oriented. It makes sense. If I was hiring, I would view this as a plus. Now, if they started telling me about probes and Area 51 conspiracies, that would be a negative.

"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at...." Thoreau

I think you may be wording your question wrong. UFOs are 100% real, as a fact.

An Unidentified Flying Object is an "unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object". Some things that can be called a "UFO" could be a plane, kite, weather balloon, etc. If it can't be identified (due to speed, weather, or light conditions), then it is a UFO. It could be as common as a bird or a tumbleweed kicked way up into the sky by wind. UFOs happen, but they're not all little green aliens.

To answer your question, do I believe in extraterrestrial life that is flying some type of UFO near planet Earth? I'm not sure about that. I doubt it. But anything is possible. So "yes" to the possibility.

...however, my girlfriend and I did see the Marfa Lights together, one night driving through West Texas (moving her from San Fran back to Austin), we stopped at the viewing platform around 3am. Though I am sure there is a scientific explanation (currently there are several theories, no one has proved it yet), it sure was weird. Floating orbs dancing in the pitch black distance, lazily floating 100 feet over the horizon, then rapidly jumping a distance of .5-1 mile within a fraction of a second. All in absolute silence with zero light pollution. Strange stuff. I figure it was a lot like the Aurora Borealis. Magical to view, but all science.